


Familiar Shadows

by Jen425



Series: New Lights [5]
Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers
Genre: Aisha Campbell Needs A Hug, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Catching Up, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Reunions, Secret Identities, Superheroes, Teamups, Tommy Oliver Needs A Hug, Tommy please for the love of god tell your team that you’re the dragon, but I’m only tagging the truly relevant, the Stone Canyon Trio Went To The Ninja Academies and I Will Fight You, the whole team is mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 20:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18676864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jen425/pseuds/Jen425
Summary: Tommy never knew her name, before, but when he sees her in the park… he knows.And so does she.





	Familiar Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> Of the four Power Rangers characters besides Tommy to stumble their way into this AU, Aisha is the only one that I planned. Jen was an accident, Dane was a pattern, and the new Shade was just a stroke of brilliance.
> 
> (And yes, it is four Rangers. Guess what color the new Shade wears…)

Tommy had not expected to meet Shade again while helping save a runaway stroller, but life is just funny like that.

 

Her name, he real name, is Aisha. Aisha Campbell.

 

But Tommy’s current team doesn’t even know about _himself,_ much less Dane and Chris and Jenny and Shade.

 

The Dragon is their mysterious ally. The one with a voice scrambler, a hood, a mask, and an identity that Zordon refuses to reveal.

 

Tommy thanks him for that, whenever he can.

 

The White Ranger and the Green Ranger are bonus, a power boost, but there are some things he can’t do as a Ranger that he can as The Dragon. And he’s versed enough in intergalactic law to understand that.

 

So instead of saying “where have you been?” he says “hello,” and “nice to meet you.”

 

Instead of saying “I tried to leave but now I use two identities as a hero. I miss you and Jenny and sometimes I talk to Chris and Dane but it’s not the same,” he says “My name is Tommy.”

 

He doesn’t need to say “please come find me tonight so that we can talk,” because she already knows.

  
  


She meets him sitting on a roof, in downtown. Right next to it is a building that the Green Ranger once smashed to the ground, when Tommy had been controlled by Rita, and, therefore, out of control.

 

The one he’s sitting on right now had been smashed by a monster, shortly after Tommy got his Green Ranger Powers back. The Dragon had lead evacuations after a quick demorph and teleport.

 

Shade flashes next to him, a familiar-yet-different black uniform and gold trim.

 

“Shade,” he says. “It’s been a while.”

 

Shade smiles, pulling off her hood.

 

“It has,” she says. “We both left. But it seems you came back times three.”

 

The Dragon laughs.

 

“I didn’t have much of a choice, the first time,” he says. “But I realized after losing my powers that I just… couldn’t leave.”

 

Shade smirks.

 

“We all knew you’d be a career hero,” she says. The Dragon groans.

 

“Yeah, I knew,” he says. “But… Shade, My team? They aren’t like us. Their battle is simpler, but also more complex. They just don’t know what being a Ranger means. I hope they don’t have to until we defeat Zedd.”

 

Shade nods. Dane’s boot camp on intergalactic politics had been a hard to forget boon on more than one occasion. She understands.

 

“And they don’t deal with police and arrests,” The Dragon adds. “Man it took me _forever_ to get them to trust me.”

 

Shade smiles.

 

“The life of a hero,” she says. “By the way, have you patrolled yet, tonight?”

 

The Dragon shakes his head.

 

“Not yet,” he says. “I was wondering if Shade might want to join me.”

 

Shade smirks.

 

“Wouldn’t miss it,” she says.

  
  


“So what about you?” The Dragon asks, when they take a break an hour later. Shade looks away.

 

“I finished the year, graduated,” she says. “Then I got asked to do an exchange with the Wind Ninja Academy.”

 

“Rocky and Adam?” The Dragon guesses. Shade nods.

 

“That’s where I met them,” she says. “They needed a yellow, but they got a Gold, instead. It works well, though.”

 

The Dragon smiles.

 

“Oh I could see _that_ ,” he teases. Shade glares.

 

“Not another word,” she says. “Especially to them. It’s not normal to spend middle school traveling across the universe and saving the world, you know. They’re, _we’re_ still nervous of what people will think.”

 

The Dragon raises his hands.

 

“Hey I’m no idiot,” he says. “Although… Dane tried to propose to Chris, last week.”

 

“Did he panic?” Shade asks. The Dragon nods. “Chris stole me right out of post battle cheers to ask what to do. It took forever to calm down my team when I got back.”

 

“You haven’t told them, have you?” Shade asks, and the Dragon, no, _Tommy_ shakes his head.

 

“I don’t know why not,” he says. “But I’m sure it will come out when the time is right. Anyways, tell me about _your_ ‘friends’.”

 

Shade smiles.

 

“Oh trust me when I say that I have plenty _to_ say,” she says. “I met them at the same time, of course…”

  
  


Tommy decides not to act surprised when the ninjas take off their masks. Instead, he winks at Aisha and walks up to the group ahead of Kim and Billy.

 

“Glad the gold worked for you,” he says. Aisha half-glares at him and Rocky and Adam’s eyes widen.

 

Tommy smiles.

 

“How—”

 

“I’m not one of you, but I know a thing or two,” he says. Then Kim and Billy are there, and he leaves it at that.

  
  


The trio discovering their identities should worry him more than it does. Possibly because it breaks one of Zordon’s three rule. But he trusts Aisha, and she trusts Rocky and Adam, and taking off his helmet for confirmation only feels like the right thing to do.

 

They’re ninjas, and Aisha’s a retired superhero. They understand secret identities well.

 

But, by the time Jason and Trini and Zack are going, it’s no surprise that the trio are to be their successors.

 

“Most likely to change identities,” The Dragon jokes, as Shade joins him on patrol, that same night. She just laughs.

 

“Too many of those are accurate,” she says. The Dragon just shrugs.

 

“I’m glad you were chosen, though,” he says. Shade smiles.

 

“Me, too,” she says. “I think… I _know_ I missed all of you, but, after we lost Jenny, it just…”

 

“It wasn’t the same,” the Dragon finishes. Then, suddenly, he remembers. “Oh. Right. Lightspeed called, today. He wanted to see if I could help with a mission. It’s over the weekend, my mom is out of town and willing to vouch for me having friends over—”

 

Shade gives him a Look.

 

“Ranger business,” the Dragon says. “I’ve done it before, and the Rangers aren’t as subtle as we were. They trust me.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“ _Anyways_ ,” the Dragon says. “Do you want to come? The _new_ new Shade’s a good kid. Apparently, he’s unaligned with any acadamy, but he was chosen.”

 

Shade laughs.

 

“Oh I know who the new Shade is,” she says. “And… okay. I’ll come.”

 

“You’ll need a new name,” the Dragon points out. Shade hmms.

 

“Gold Shadow,” she says at last. Gold Shadow.

 

“I like it,” the Dragon says. “Now, let’s get to work.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @flaim-ita


End file.
